From the monthly archives:

July 2009

Hotel REITs Default and Deflate – Can Shareholders Benefit?

July 27, 2009

It’s almost factual at this point: most 2006 and 2007 buyers of hotel properties will likely default on their mortgages. The reasons are simple: pro forma room rate and occupancy assumptions are being crushed, existing mortgage debt cannot be serviced, and the resulting drop in property values is preventing any kind of loan workout (other […]

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Mortgage REIT IPOs: There is Vibrant Life After Death in CRE Debt

July 23, 2009

In just the past two months, 8 Mortgage REITs have filed to raise $3.9 billion in fresh cash, which should not be all that surprising. Retail financial advisors are saying that buckets of high net worth cash are sitting on the sidelines, waiting for opportunities in distressed commercial real estate. With several REIT follow on […]

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Billions, Literally, Chasing Distressed Commercial Real Estate

July 15, 2009

Even with all the capital now chasing distressed commercial real estate, it’s still not clear whether these bargains are really much of a bargain. 250 Montgomery St., a downtown San Francisco office building that traded via a distressed note sale is the latest example of the uncertainty. The building, located on San Francisco’s “Wall Street […]

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Mauldin Says Deflation Is Coming: Why He Is Wrong, Stuck "Inside the Box" & Hopelessly Conflicted

July 9, 2009

While John Mauldin may read “hundreds of articles, reports, books and newsletters” in order to bring you the one essay each week that will “stimulate your thinking”, he will also roll for commissions, and that’s pretty much all you need to know about his weekly email. More on that later, but first, what about his […]

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JP Morgan Likes Brandywine (BDN) and Entertainment Properties Trust (EPT)

July 8, 2009

JP Morgan analyst Anthony Paolone is understandably not bullish on commercial real estate fundamentals, but since the public market is typically ahead of the private market in terms of valuations, he does like certain REITs. Brandwine in particular has both refinanced existing debt, and repurchased its own debt on the open market (for a quick […]

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Real Estate as an Inflation Hedge? Don’t Bet On It

July 7, 2009

One major reason for investing in commercial real estate and REITs is that real estate is thought of as an effective hedge against inflation, yet commercial properties were an abyssmal inflation hedge in the early 1990s. So why are they still considered to be an inflation hedge if that isn’t always the case? As usual, […]

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